Turpin, Kowan, and Rees take multiple victories on the weekend in Utah

Round 2 of the Vortex Racing/Masters of the Mountains race series was completed over this last weekend with the weather providing several instances of uncertainty of tire choice. With intermittent wind, rain and sunshine, it was enough to make most riders shake their heads with confusion as to what to do. But that wouldn’t stop the competitors racing at the Utah Motorsports Campus. The Deseret Dash race 1 started the weekend off. Moto Station’s Michael Bradshaw came away with the win after working his way through the field. Auric Solar/ECS/ Keystone Solutions’ Shane White took 2nd, with Matthew Lewis out of Las Vegas taking 3rd.

In the afternoon, there were several hotly contested races. Middleweight superstock did not disappoint with Trackstar Racing’s Gauge Rees coming home with the win after battling SpeedMotoCo’s Kinzer Naylor for the lead. Naylor finished the race in 2nd with Trackstar Racing’s Ryan Richardson rounding out the podium. Trackstar Racing’s Gauge Rees also took the win in Moto 2. “Tire choice was a definite challenge, with the rain and wind. The track conditions changed rapidly and finding correct setup was next to impossible” stated Kelly Rees, owner of Trackstar Racing.

In the open classes, Rickdiculous Racing’s Shane Turpin came away with a big win in Moto 1, with The Edge Motorsports’ Erik Grim and Moto Station’s Michael Bradshaw rounding out the podium. Erik Grim would take the win in Open Superstock a few races later. Grim, with Dunlops now on his bike, stated “I really think I like these tires. I dropped over a second a lap, and the tires are just planted”.

Sunday started out with dry conditions, but clouds rolled in and again created uncertainty with setup. Modern Vintage started the raceday off. The #72 Auric Solar/ECS/Keystone Solutions GSX-R1000 ridden by Shane White, took the holeshot and quickly distanced himself from the field. By lap 2 the rain started to fall on the back side of the course. The racers continued until the lead group finally called the race due to rain. Shane White on the #72 taking the win, Matthew Lewis from Las Vegas, on the #771 GSX-R1000, finishing 2nd, and The Mechanic #39 GSX-R1000 of Kevin Dolan finishing 3rd. In the GTU class, Jason Koth on the ECS GSX-R600 finished 1st with Speedin’ Motorsports’ Scott Rybarik on the #69 finshing 2nd, and #44 Tom MacNiece rounding out the podium.

The rain threatened, which ended up being a recurring theme for the day, as the Vortex Racing/King of the Mountain GTU race neared. As the lights went out, it was a drag race to turn one on the mostly dry track. Ryan Richardson, Kinzer Naylor, and Kory Cowan nearly side by side through turn one with Richardson taking the holeshot by the narrowest of margins. Naylor quickly moved himself into the first position and led the next 4 laps. Kowan paced Naylor, and made his move into Blackrock to take the lead. The #84 R6 pilot then pushed the pace with Naylor in tow. The ZX6 rider reclaimed the lead and really started pushing the pace to try to break free. In the last lap an illegal pass under waving yellow gave Cowan, from The Moto Station, the win. Gauge Rees, from the Trackstar Racing team, finished 2nd with Kinzer Naylor, with SpeedMotoCo, finishing 3rd.

The sun finally came out at the beginning of the Vortex Racing/King of the Mountain GTO race. The Rickdiculous Racing #14 ZX10 ridden by Shane Turpin launched quickly into the lead and took the holeshot. Turpin quickly set the pace and opened up an insurmountable lead, easily taking the win on one wheel. Erik Grim finishing comfortably in 2nd on his The Edge Motorsports sponsored KTM. Michael Bradshaw finished 3rd riding The MotoStation BMW S1000RR. “I want to thank my sponsors Rickdickulous Racing, Boulder Motorsports, Moto Station, CT Racing, Vortex, and Arai Helmets” Turpin remarked after his cruise control victory.

The Production 250 and Production 500 classes saw some great battles as Trackstar Racing’s Anthony Morgan and Braden Randall turning virtually every lap nose to tail.

To cap the weekend off, Fastline Performance’s Jeff Stern was awarded the Rider of the day award from Utah Motorsports Campus. This award is for the rider who exemplifies racer participation and spectator growth. Jeff was honored.

Vortex Racing/King of the Mountain GTO:

1st: Shane Turpin Kawasaki ZX10

2nd: Erik Grim KTM RC8R

3rd: Michael Bradshaw BMW S1000RR

Vortex Racing/King of the Mountain GTU:

1st: Kory Cowan Yamaha R6

2nd: Gauge Rees Yamaha R6

3rd: Kinzer Naylor Kawasaki ZX6

The Edge Motorsports Deseret Dash Expert race 1:

1st: Michael Bradshaw BMW S1000RR

2nd: Shane White Suzuki GSX-R1000

3rd: Matthew Lewis Suzuki GSX-R1000

The Edge Motorsports Deseret Dash Expert race 2:

1st: Matthew Lewis Suzuki GSX-R1000

2nd: Jeff Stern Suzuki GSX-R1000

3rd: Shane White Suzuki GSX-R1000

The Edge Motorsports Deseret Dash Novice race 1:

1st: Eugene Alston Yamaha R1

2nd: Darren Knepper Honda CBR1000RR

3rd: John Hewitt Yamaha R6

The Edge Motorsports Deseret Dash Novice race 2:

1st: Ryan McGowan Kawasaki ZX10

2nd: Steven Marco Honda CBR1000RR

3rd: Eugene Alston Yamaha R1

The Moto Station Open Superbike:

1st: Shane Turpin Kawasaki ZX10

2nd: Erik Grim KTM RC8R

3rd: Michael Bradshaw BMW S1000RR

Harrison Eurosports Open Superstock:

1st: Erik Grim KTM RC8R

2nd: Michael Bradshaw BMW S1000RR

3rd: David Purcell Kawasaki ZX10

Lamonica’s Restaurant Supply Heavyweight Superbike:

1st: Kory Cowan Yamaha R6

2nd: Joshua Smith Yamaha R6

3rd: Trevor Beard Yamaha R6

The Moto Station Middleweight Superbike:

1st: Kory Cowan Yamaha R6

2nd: Gauge Rees Yamaha R6

3rd: Ryan Richardson Yamaha R6

Trackstar Racing Middleweight Superstock:

1st: Gauge Rees Yamaha R6

2nd: Kinzer Naylor Kawasaki ZX6

3rd: Ryan Richardson Yamaha R6

South Valley Motorsports Moto 1:

1st: Shane Turpin Kawasaki ZX10

2nd: Erik Grim KTM RC8R

3rd: Michael Bradshaw BMW S1000RR

Black Rhino Tools Moto 2:

1st: Gauge Rees Yamaha R6

2nd: Ryan Richardson Yamaha R6

3rd: Kinzer Naylor Kawasaki ZX6

Discount Tire Novice GTO:

1st: Ryan McGowan Kawasaki ZX10

2nd: Steven Marco Honda CBR1000RR

3rd: Eugene Alston Yamaha R1

Les Olson Company Novice GTU:

1st: Braden Randall Kawasaki ZX6

2nd: Jerry Carson Suzuki GSX-R600

3rd: Christopher Robison Kawasaki ZX6

Black Rhino Tools Combined GTO:

1st: Eugene Alston Yamaha R1

2nd: Steven Marco Honda CBR1000RR

3rd: Ted Perkins Yamaha R1

Xcel Trackdays Combined GTU:

1st: Braden Randall Kawasaki ZX6

2nd: Jeff VanDerVoort Yamaha R6

3rd: Michael Cormier Kawasaki ZX6

Harrison Eurosports Formula 40 GTO:

1st: Shane Turpin Kawasaki ZX10

2nd: Michael Bradshaw BMW S1000RR

3rd: Kevin Dolan Suzuki GSX-R1000

Harrison Eurosports Formula 40 GTU:

1st: Phil O’Bryan Kawasaki ZX6

2nd: Michael Cormier Kawasaki ZX6

The Green Pig Pub Open Twins:

1st: Erik Grim KTM RC8R

2nd: Scott Rybarik Ducati 899

3rd: Chad Carson Ducati 1199

LaMonica’s Restaurant Supply Production 250 race 1:

1st: Anthony Morgan Kawasaki Ninja 250

2nd: Braden Randall Kawasaki Ninja 250

3rd Parissa Azarvand Kawasaki Ninja 250

LaMonica’s Restaurant Supply Production 250 race 2:

1st: Anthony Morgan Kawasaki Ninja 250

2nd: Braden Randall Kawasaki Ninja 250

3rd: Robert Sergent Yamaha R3

The Edge Powersports Production 500 race 1:

1st: Anthony Morgan Kawasaki Ninja 250

2nd: Braden Randall Kawasaki Ninja 250

3rd Parissa Azarvand Kawasaki Ninja 250

The Edge Powersports Production 500 race 2:

1st: Anthony Morgan Kawasaki Ninja 250

2nd: Braden Randall Kawasaki Ninja 250

3rd: Robert Sergent Yamaha R3

Southpaw Motorsports Lightweight Twins:

1st: Braden Randall Kawasaki Ninja 250

2nd: Robert Sergent Yamaha R3

3rd: Anthony Morgan Kawasaki Ninja 250

The Mechanic Modern Vintage GTO:

1st: Shane White Suzuki GSX-R1000

2nd: Matthew Lewis Suzuki GSX-R1000

3rd: Kevin Dolan Suzuki GSX-R1000

The Mechanic Modern Vintage GTU:

1st: Jason Koth Suzuki GSX-R600

2nd: Scott Rybarik Yamaha R6

3rd: Tom MacNiece Kawasaki ZX6

Carey’s Cycle Moto 3:

1st: Anthony Morgan Kawasaki Ninja 250

2nd: Braden Randall Kawasaki Ninja 250

3rd: Parissa Azarvand Kawasaki Ninja 250

More, from a press release issued by Trackstar Racing:

Round 2 of the Utah Sportbike Associations Masters of the Mountains Series kicked off Saturday with Gauge Rees looking to get in the lead of his 4 class Championships. Morning rain on Saturday put a halt to his practice sessions as the weather was calling for clear skies for the races. The last practice session of the morning came with a drying track and one chance at getting some laps in. “I went out in the last practice, got in one warm up lap, one flying lap then it got checkered. I was only 3 tenths off race pace in that lap so I felt good about it but a few laps would have been nice.” said Rees.

The first race of the day was Moto 2 and Rees was able to get the holeshot and lead the first 2 laps. A third lap pass by a competitor under braking in T5 pushed him back to Second Place but he set up a move into T10 putting him back in the lead and taking the win. The Second Race of the day was Middleweight Superstock and was almost a perfect repeat of the first race with Rees making some great passes to take the win. Those finishes put him in the Championship lead in Moto 2 and tied for First in Middleweight Superstock.

Sunday brought more rain and sun with ever changing track conditions. The first race of the day was King of the Mountain and found Rees in a heated battle in a tight group fight for 1-4 positions. Lap times were significantly slower than the day before due to a rain storm right before the race and parts of the track still being damp. Rees crossed the line in Third Position but due to a pass for the lead and subsequent penalty assessed to a competitor he was awarded Second place and tied for Second Place in the Championship points. The last race of the day was Middleweight Superbike and Rees fought hard with Team Mate Ryan Richardson for a podium spot most of the race. Near the end the rider in Second crashed out and caused a Red Flag giving the Second spot on the Podium to Rees and Third to Richardson. That gave Rees a solid Second in the Championship standings.

“I don’t know what happened to the track between Saturday and Sunday. Everyone was running a second or so slower on Sunday no matter what tire you had. There was just no grip in the track, I don’t know if it was the rain or what but we were just spinning up on exits everywhere. It was pretty fun but I would have loved to beat my personal best on Sunday. I think we had it in us if we would have had some grip but it wasn’t meant to be. I’m training hard for the Superbike Challenge that’s being run along side the Moto America races at UMC in June. I want to show those guys I belong there on a solid Team. I cant run Pro until 2017 because I’m only 15 now but that’s my chance to show those guys what I have.” said Rees.

Gauge would like to thank his Sponsors Rickdiculous Racing, Trackstar Racing, Heatshrink.com, Apex Trackdays, Dunlop, Ohlins, Fly Racing, Steve Midgley Photography, Pop Shadow Decals, Motorex Oil, Scott Jensen and Moto Garage, Champion Spark Plugs and all of the Volunteers and Board Members who put the USBA Race Series together every weekend. The Team would also like to dedicate their weekend to injured racer Josh Elkins who suffered a serious head injury while racing a month ago. Heal up Squatch!